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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27879166">He Aims His Pistol At the Sky—</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/despairinglyNewt/pseuds/despairinglyNewt'>despairinglyNewt</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Minecraft - Fandom</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>DreamSMP - Freeform, Ghostbur, Hurt No Comfort, My L'manburg, Sorry Not Sorry, They have trauma karen, Tommyinnit needs a hug, Wilbur is dead, duels, idea from tiktok, l'manburg, no beta we die like wilbur, parallels to the first war, pay attention to the major character death warning, sorry - Freeform</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 15:01:25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,767</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27879166</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/despairinglyNewt/pseuds/despairinglyNewt</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>"Do I shoot him, Will, or do I aim for the skies?"</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>tommy &amp; tubbo</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>81</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>He Aims His Pistol At the Sky—</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> <em>Tommyinnit sat behind the broken down van, </em>his hair blowing in his face every so often. The once bubbly boy was silent, his eyes focused on the grass he sat on. The obsidian walls seemed to loom over him, casting a shadow over his entire body, Tommy pressed his legs to his chest and shivered. It was cold where he sat, but he didn't bother moving, for nothing would change.</p><p>  The sun was steadily rising, and when the sun sits in the middle of the sky, Dream would come back to L'Manburg, demanding president Tubbo's answer.</p><p>  Today would be the day that decided if Tommy was to be exiled from L'Manburg– <em>his </em>home! The home he had fought so hard for, the home that he fought a fucking war for! The home that he sacrificed his discs for, for crying out loud! Tubbo surely wouldn't <em>exile </em>him . . . right? Tubbo was his best friend, surely he wouldn't think of exiling him. Besides, it was Tommy and Tubbo against the world! Not Tommy and Tubbo against each <em>other.</em> That was just unheard of! If the roles were switched Tommy wouldn't have even <em>thought </em>of exiling Tubbo. Surely his best friend must feel the same. </p><p>  But Dream was a threat that nobody could have ever imagined, and they were still weak from the last war. It was like what he had said: <em>I was never on your side, Tommy! </em>And it was true, all Dream cared about was his discs, and he knew that Dream would do <em>anything </em>just to keep them in his possession. Because that way, Dream had all the power over L'Manburg. </p><p>  "You look like shit," a voice croaked from beside the boy. Tommy didn't need to look to know who had "sat" beside him. </p><p>  "Yeah, well, I feel like shit," Tommy responded, shaking his head. "Hey, Will." </p><p>  "Hey, Tommy. You look sad, did something happen?" </p><p>  "I mean, other than the fact I could be exiled at noon today, no, nothing really happened." </p><p>  "Weren't we exiled, too?" Wilbur asked, Tommy had since gotten used to Wilbur's constant questions and his raspy voice. It had been a slight shock to find out that Wilbur had forgotten most events when he became a ghost after Phil had killed him. </p><p>  "Yeah. I think Dream's gonna force Tubbo to exile me or we have another war." </p><p>  "Like the first war?"</p><p>  "Eh, sorta." </p><p>  Wilbur had paused, thinking for a moment. "Are you going to duel Dream again?" His question made Tommy freeze. A part of him rationalized it.</p><p>  <em>If Tommy won the duel, he wouldn't be exiled, he'd get his discs, and L'Manburg would be safe, but on the other hand . . .</em></p><p>He was on his last life, too. If he died, that was it. </p><p>  "I'll... think about it, Will."</p>
<hr/><p>  "Dream, I challenge you to a duel." Tommy had strutted up to the man in the mask the second he jumped into L'Manburg. The emotionless mask stared at Tommy, his heart pace quickened. He hated that damn mask, he could never tell what that man was thinking with it on, and with just his luck, said man never took it off. "Ten paces, winner chooses what they want."</p><p>  There was silence between the two for a moment, and Tommy thought for half a second that Dream could most definitely hear his heart thudding in his chest. If the man in the green cloak agreed, that was it. He'd either die, or he'd win. </p><p>  "No." </p><p>  A beat.</p><p>  "What the fuck do you mean 'no,' Dream?! I'm right here, challenging you to a duel, are you too much of a goddamn pussy to agree?!" His volume raised as he spoke, throwing his hands around in wild directions as his words mashed together. </p><p>  "I'm not a pussy, Tommy," he could hear the smile beneath his mask. "But I, for one, think that your duel against me would be idiotic. Because I'm not the one exiling you." </p><p>  "Tubbo is."</p><p>  He couldn't possibly mean–</p><p>  "So I think you should challenge <em>him </em>to the duel, Tommy." Dream continued. He must know him and Tubbo are on their last lives, he <em>must </em>know, he must! Why else would he push him to duel Tubbo instead of himself? It couldn't be cowardice, Dream's a thinker, he doesn't do things without thinking first. "Oh, look! Here he is now." </p><p>  Tommy glanced behind him, seeing his best friend approach. He quickly glanced away, the echo of previous words making their way back into his mind. <em>Selfish. </em></p><p>  "What's going on here?" </p><p>  <em>Selfish.</em></p><p>"Ah! Well, events came up, and Tommy here wants to ask you something! Go on, tell him." </p><p>  <em>Selfish.</em></p><p>"I... want to challenge you to a duel, Tubbo. If– if I win, I... get to stay. And if you win," he sucked in a breath. "You can exile me." Dream has to know the two were on their last lives, he has to know that someone isn't coming out <em>alive </em>in this duel. </p><p>  "Oh, well, alright then! Uh... yeah, I'll duel you." Tommy saw a flicker of unease in Tubbo's eyes.</p><p>  "Good, good." Dream broke into the conversation with a clap. "I think we should start this at..." He glanced up to the sky, thinking. "Moonrise." </p><p>  Only a good few hours away.</p>
<hr/><p>  The sun slowly set behind Tommy as he jumped onto the van, sitting down and giving a heavy sigh. </p><p>  "Hello, Tommy. How did it go?" Wilbur. </p><p>  "Fine."</p><p>  "So you won? That's good, we can have L'Manburg back and we can run for president." </p><p>  "Wilbur, I don't know what to do." Tommy blurted, it was a normal occurrence, he never thinks on what he's going to say until he actually says it. </p><p>  "What do you mean?"</p><p>  "Dream is making me duel Tubbo tonight."</p><p>  "Oh."</p><p>  "And, Wilbur, I'm fucking terrified. And I mean that. I don't want to shoot Tubbo, he's my friend! I don't know if I should shoot him, Will, or if I aim for the skies. If I aim for the skies, Will, what'll happen?" </p><p>  "Tommy, I..." Wilbur trailed off, looking down. "Tommy, how much do you care about Tubbo?"</p><p>  "A lot." An obvious answer.</p><p>  "Figured, I mean, he's your Tubbo! Tubbox, our Tubbo!" Wilbur gave a small chuckle to the happy memories. "Well, I think you shouldn't shoot him, because if Tubbo feels the same way about you– and he does, you two are best friends– he won't shoot you, Tommy." </p><p>  Tommy felt at least a little bit comforted by his words, he gave the ghost a weak smile.</p><p>  "Thanks, Wilbur." </p><p>  The ghost only grinned in response, if he were alive, however, he would've hugged Tommy. </p><p>  "Go on, then! You have to prepare!" Wilbur then vanished without another word, leaving Tommy alone as the moon slowly began to rise above the horizon. The boy sighed again, swore, and then jumped down from the van, landing with a thud on the ground. He was right, he had a duel to prepare for. Dream had said that he'd bring the poison to get the two low enough to where a single arrow could kill.</p><p>  Tommy shivered again, dying in that was was most certainly not fun. It had taken hours for him to respawn in his bed. Yet, even then, his entire body ached with fatigue. </p><p>  He waited by the walls for Dream to jump down and get the L'Manburgians. The moon was rising, he'd be here soon. </p><p>  And sure enough, one second he wasn't there, and then next the hauntingly familiar man in the mask stood tall in the darkness, a lantern illuminated the area around him. </p><p>  "Dream."</p><p>  "Tommy." </p><p>  "Where's Tubbo?"</p><p>  Tommy opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off by footsteps approaching.</p><p>  "I'm here! Sorry, I just-" Tubbo paused mid-sentence, taking a moment to catch his breath. "-got caught up in something." He straightened, clearing his throat. Dream turned, pulling his pickaxe from his bag, mining a tunnel through the obsidian wall. The two boys didn't need to be told to follow him, they quickly walked behind Dream. Anxiety bubbled in the back of Tommy's stomach, this was it. </p><p>  The three walked until they reached the Prime Path, then Dream stopped.</p><p>  "Ten paces, each gets one arrow." </p><p>  The two boys silently nodded, and then Dream pulled a vial of a sickly green substance. "Stand back to back on the path, I don't want to poison myself." </p><p>  The two boys complied, and then they were silent. No good lucks, no quiet words of encouragement, no plan, no nothing. Tommy swallowed thickly, his hands fidgeting. The sound of glass breaking and the feeling of nausea. The two pulled their bows from their sides, waiting for Dream to call.</p><p>  "One."</p><p>  Tommy's heart thudded in his throat. </p><p>  "Two."</p><p>  He wasn't going to shoot Tubbo.</p><p>  "Three."</p><p>   He couldn't.</p><p>  "Four."</p><p>   Would Tubbo do the same?</p><p>   "Five."</p><p>   And if he didn't...</p><p>   "Six."</p><p>   Tommy shook himself from his thoughts, his eyes stealing glances to the cold stars above. If he was shot, there would be no–</p><p>   "Seven."</p><p>   - saving him. </p><p>   "Eight."</p><p>   "Nine."</p><p>   "Ten paces– fire." </p><p>    Tommy turned around, his hands shaking as he pointed his arrow towards Tubbo before raising it towards the stars above, he squeezed his eyes shut before firing. There was silence for a second, before Tubbo's scream pierced the sky. Had he shot him? He glanced at Tubbo, and saw an arrow flying right towards his chest. A dull pain flooded through him as Tommy stumbled back onto the hard wood, uttering a cry. His body felt numb as he stared at the quickly approaching boy, vision blurring for a few seconds. </p><p>  "Tommy, you <em>idiot!</em>" The voice sounded far away, though he stared at the face of the one who had shot him. Tommy let out a wheeze as he gave Tubbo a small, painful smile. He didn't bother speaking, it hurt enough as it was to <em>breathe. </em>He watched wordlessly as Tubbo picked him up, struggling for a few moments. Tommy shook his head, and Tubbo sat down, Tommy still in his arms. </p><p>  Tubbo was crying, Tommy realized. The boy opened his, mouth, choking out a few words.</p><p>  "Don't cry. Song, please?" </p><p>  Tubbo looked at Tommy, before sniffing and nodding. "L-L'Manburg's song?"</p><p>  Tommy nodded.</p><p>  "Okay, okay," he muttered, clearing his throat. "I heard there was a special place." Tubbo's voice wavered as he choked back a sob. </p><p>  "Where men can go and emancipate, the tyranny and brutality of their rulers."</p><p>  "W-well this place is real, you <em>needn't fret, </em>with Wilbur, Tommy, Tubbo, fuck Eret." </p><p>  "It's very real and- and not blown up L'Manburg." </p><p>  "Our L'Manburg, our L'Manburg, our– Tommy?" </p><p>  "Tommy?" </p><p>   "...Tommy?"</p>
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